I recently came up with a concept for a product idea. The product, I think, could have a large and vibrant market (and is particularly marketable within this field). I lack the expertise to protoype it myself, probably, but I believe I can patent it whenever I can get someone who can draw to illustrate it decently. In concept, it’s not terribly diffuclt to manufacture, just not something you can do easily with hand tools and stuff from the local hardware store. Not on a whim anyway.
How should I go about using this? Do I get a patent application and send it in? There are definitely established companies which could sell this product, and I’d rather not try and make a startup competing with them. Dealing with one of them seems like a more workable plan. How should I go about contacting one once I’ve got something concrete to offer?
One book I can recommend on this topic is “Patent it Yourself” by David Pressman. I (along with a student) had a great idea for a guitar-related product a few years back, and this book was extremely helpful w/ regards to gaining some understanding of how the whole patent thing works.
My husband is a patent atty and the first thing you need to do is a patent search. I think of product concepts and ideas all the time, and a quick patent search always shows that someone else has already thought of it and patented it.
If it turns out that your idea is not yet patented, then get it patented before you talk to any companies. You do not need a prototype or drawings to get a patent. You just need to describe your concept/product in a way that “one with skill in the industry or art can reproduce” it. Not sure what kind of product this is, but large companies will often just buy the intellectual property rights meaning that you don’t have to get this thing mass produced and sell them the goods. Just sell the IP rights and let them deal with the mfg and sales, if that is their business.
You can go to www.uspto.gov (I see you are in the U.S.) for both the searching and the application.
Submitting it to companies could be a challenge. Many companies have policies whereby they refuse to consider unsolicited ideas/offers for new technology.
That doesn’t really tell you much. Maybe you’re not searching for the right term. Maybe there is a patent that applies but seems to be for a completely different “market.” Maybe there’s no patent on it because everyone already knows about it and it’s thus not patentable.
Patents cost around $10,000 to $20,000 to draft and more money for the time spent arguing with the patent office about prior art and if the claims are inventive enough. From what I have seen it takes an experienced lawyer two weeks to a month to draft a good claims if they are very familiar with the technology. Longer if they have to come up to speed. The filing fees are a fee hundred dollars the cost is almost entirely the lawyers time.
This statement reflects a serious misconception about the way patents work. This is why the OP should get advice from an expert. A layman doesn’t know what kind of weirdness can be triggered by a “throw it against a wall” approach. You could find yourself in an unwanted legal battle or administrative proceeding.
He/she has noted he does not have much money for this. In that situation he/she can best move forward by filing an application. Why? Because the Patent Office performs its own search. Is it the best search, or a comprehensive one? Who knows? But, it provides a starting point for the back and forth that takes place in prosecution of a patent (you know, don’t you, that almost every patent application is rejected upon first submission, and allowed (if allowed) only after several exchanges with the Patent Examiner?).
Depending on the prior art cited by the Examiner, the applicant can then amend his claims so as to avoid it.
Once issued, the patent is statutorily presumed to be valid.
The meta meta point (which I didn’t want to make explicit because I didn’t want to rain on anyone’s parade) is that the OP faces an uphill battle marketing an invention successfully, such that he is taking a flyer on this whole thing, such that taking a quick-and-dirty approach to applying for a patent is not irrational. I don’t necessarily want the OP spending $10-$20k (correctly cited by someone else above) for futility when he could get his own futility for basically free.
Wow. That’s really depressing. Maybe I’ll file for it anyway. I might not be able to draw, but I can describe it (well, actually, two mutually-assisting parts) very well. I mean, worse come to worse, no one cares and I’m out a few bucks. I’ve heard the UT Biz department (I go to UT) has helped people in my situation before.
I don’t think so. In that situation, he can best move forward by consulting an expert in the field to find out if he might have a good idea on his hands or would be wasting his time and money.
And why should he waste his own time, money, and effort, as well as the public’s time, money, and effort if just to get a pro forma rejection? Will he know how to respond to the PTO’s responses and rejections?
And what will he do when people in the industry start filing petitions for cancellation and lawsuits for declaratory judgments of invalidity?
This makes no sense. If the exercise is entirely futile, a patent law expert will tell him so before he spends tens of thousands of dollars.
Patents are good for companies. They aren’t so good for individuals. Not that I want to discourage you, but there are some things you need to consider.
Getting a patent is expensive, and by itself, doesn’t buy you anything. You have to get the patent, and you have to enforce it. A lot of individuals can afford to get a patent. A lot of individuals can’t afford to enforce it. There aren’t any “patent police” who automatically jump in and defend your patent for you. If someone infringes on your patent, you have to take them to court. Many companies, once they realize they are dealing with an individual and not a company with deep pockets, will resort to the tactic of basically lawyering you to death. Your legal fees can jump up to the point where it is just no longer possible for you to defend your patent.
That said, it’s not impossible for an individual to get a patent and successfully depend it. The first step though, as was previously mentioned, is to talk to a lawyer who specializes in patents. You need to be very careful with what you do next, and you need advice that is a little bit better than what we here at the SDMB can provide. This is one of those cases where you truly do need an expert in the field.
I will at least call a lawyer and ask. There’re lawyers around here who do his kind of work. truth be told, I don’t want exactly to possess my patent, if possible, but rather do business with a company to license it. Then we together can defend it if necessary.
I’m not stupid enough to try and mess with a company lawyering like that, although if I had enough money I might be crazy enough to act as my own lawyer and basically run out their legal fees until doomsday.
If you and your product are good, might it be possible to use it to get a job in some creative capacity with a company in the field? Just a thought, sacrafice the idea (it’s only the first of many that are sure to follow, right?) so that you can learn the ropes of how the creative process works and is adminstered in the industry you have in mind. You can then strike out on your own once you’ve got this knowledge under your belt. It’s a classic career path of inventors.
